Research Interests

Mairead Kiely has more than 20 years research experience in human nutrition and health. Her PhD was in the area of oxidative stress and nutritional and endogenous antioxidant defences in pregnancy. She has a background in nutritional epidemiology and since 2005, has co-chaired the Cork Centre for Vitamin D and Nutrition Research at UCC, which investigates vitamin D requirements for human health throughout life and effective public health strategies to achieve them. Mairead is also cocoordinator of the EC funded ODIN project on food based strategies for vitamin D deficiency prevention.

Since 2014, Mairead has led the Maternal and Child Nutrition research programme at INFANT, which is addressing unanswered questions in relation to nutritional requirements for healthy pregnancy and beyond in women and to support optimal growth and development in infants and young children.

Primary health outcomes under investigation are physical and neurological development in children and cardiovascular health in women, including body composition, muscle and bone indices. A major underpinning activity to support these research themes is the design, construction and analysis of quality food consumption and food composition databases.

Research Grants

Project

FundingBody

Start Date

End Date

Award

COMBINE [Cork Nutrition and Microbiome Maternal-Infant Cohort Study]

Science Foundation Ireland

01-JAN-15

31-DEC-19

PINPOINT [Personalised Nutrition for the Preterm Infant]

Science Foundation Ireland

01-JAN-15

31-DEC-17

Food based solutions for Optimal vitamin D Nutrition and health through the life cycle.

'Vitamin D and muscle strength throughout the life course: a review of epidemiological and intervention studies' McCarthy EK, Kiely M (2014) 'Vitamin D and muscle strength throughout the life course: a review of epidemiological and intervention studies'. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, [Details]

'Recommended dietary intakes for vitamin D: where do they come from, what do they achieve and how can we meet them?' Cashman KD and Kiely M. (2014) 'Recommended dietary intakes for vitamin D: where do they come from, what do they achieve and how can we meet them?'. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, [DOI][Details]

'Prevention of vitamin D deficiency during infancy is achieved by a combination of low dose maternal and infant supplementation' Kiely M. (2013) 'Prevention of vitamin D deficiency during infancy is achieved by a combination of low dose maternal and infant supplementation'. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 67 (10):1010-1011 [Details]

'Validity of a food frequency questionnaire to assess intake of seafood in adults in three European countries' Birgisdottir BE, Kiely M, Martinez JA, Thorsdottir I. (2008) 'Validity of a food frequency questionnaire to assess intake of seafood in adults in three European countries'. Food Control, 19 :648-653 [DOI][Details]

'Texture preferences of 12-month-old infants and the role of early experiences' Blossfeld I, Collins A, Kiely M, Delahunty C. (2007) 'Texture preferences of 12-month-old infants and the role of early experiences'. Food Quality and Preference, 18 :396-404 [DOI][Details]

(2007)

'Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Irish school children, using four different definitions' O'Neill JL, McCarthy SN, Burke SJ, Hannon EM, Kiely M, Flynn A, Flynn MAT, Gibney MJ. (2007) 'Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Irish school children, using four different definitions'. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 61 :743-751 [DOI][Details]

(2007)

'Impact of fish intake on oxidative stress when included into a moderate energy-restricted program to treat obesity' Parra D, Bandarra NM, Kiely M, Thorsdottir I, Martinez JA. (2007) 'Impact of fish intake on oxidative stress when included into a moderate energy-restricted program to treat obesity'. European Journal of Nutrition, 46 :460-467 [DOI][Details]

'Attitudes towards and beliefs about nutrition and health among a representative sample of adults in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland' Kearney JM, Gibney MJ, Livingstone MBE, Robson PJ, Kiely M, Harrington KE. (2001) 'Attitudes towards and beliefs about nutrition and health among a representative sample of adults in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland'. Public Health Nutrition, 4 (5A):1117-1126 [Details]

Conference Publications

Year

Publication

(2014)

Proceedings of the Nutrition Society McCarthy EK, Murray DM, Kenny LC, Hourihane JO'B, Kiely M. (2014) Child eating behaviours are associated with weight status at two years of age Proceedings of the Nutrition Society[Details]

Proceedings of the Nutrition Society Galvin MA, Kiely M, Flynn A. (2002) The impact of ready-to-eat breakfast cereals (RTEBCs) on the level of inadequacy of micronutrients and non-compliance with dietary recommendations in Irish adults Proceedings of the Nutrition Society[Details]

Proceedings of the Nutrition Society Cosgrove M, Flynn A, Kiely M. (2001) The contributions of meat to nutrient intakes in Irish men and women of different ages Proceedings of the Nutrition Society[Details]

Recommendations for a National Policy on Vitamin D Supplementation for Infants in Ireland. Kiely M. (2007) Recommendations for a National Policy on Vitamin D Supplementation for Infants in Ireland. Food Safety Authority of Ireland, N/A. [Details]

(2006)

The Diet and Lifestyle of Children in Ireland. Kiely M. (2006) The Diet and Lifestyle of Children in Ireland. Supported by Birds Eye, Dublin. [Details]

(2005)

Salt and Health: review of the scientific evidence and recommendations for public policy in Ireland. Flynn A et al. (2005) Salt and Health: review of the scientific evidence and recommendations for public policy in Ireland. Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Dublin. [Details]

(2004)

Report of a workshop towards the development of food-based dietary guidelines in Central and Eastern European Countries. National Food Based Dietary Guidelines (2004) Report of a workshop towards the development of food-based dietary guidelines in Central and Eastern European Countries. N/A, International Life Sciences Institute; Brussels. [Details]